Clay Beats Liston in First-Round Kayo (Sort of); Fans Chorus 'Fix' After Referee's Unusual Decision

Well, it was all over before the fans had even started to salivate.

Some $3,000,000 worth of spectators saw--or didn't see, depending on whether or not they were blinking at the time--the Muslim from Louisville peddle backwards and land a lightening "phantom" right to the jaw which sent Charles "Sonny" Liston sprawling to his downfall in what was certainly one of the most bizarre bouts in boxing history.

From the vantage point of a closed circuit television spectator, it seemed uncertain whether Clay had even landed the lightning blow--but then no one had the chance to ask Sonny.

But the train of events after the knockdown surpassed even the coup de grace itself. The camera focused on the supine Liston, but there was no ign of referee Jersey Joe Walcott administreing the mandatory eight count. Then, as Liston vainly tried to get up, Clay dashed into the picture, being restrained by Wolcott, just as the challenger was tumbling down again after having risen to one knee.

Liston then rose, however, and the fight apparently started again, when Wolcott broke in and interrupted the opponents, declaring Clay the winner.

Apparently, Wolcott had been unable to hear the knockdown time keepers count and had let the fight continue while he checked with officials of the Maine State Boxing Commission. Informed that the ten count had been reached, he then immediately rushed over to stop the fight.

At this point pandemonium broke out and a chorus of angry fans who had $25 to $100 a seat to see the contest crowded the ring screaming "Fix!" and "Fake!"

According to the Associated Press, Liston later said that he could have gotten up, but that he was waiting to pick up the count. Asked if he could have continued, he said, "Well, after all, I got up."

Official time for the knockout was given as one minute flat, but several announcers who had checked the time was closer to 1 minute 40 seconds. One of them declared on the air that the timekeeper needed a new watch.

Clay was obviously in command of the ring situation from the beginning. He danced out of his corner to land a couple of quick punches then virtually trotted backwards around the ring with his guard at his knees, while the sporadically lunging Liston lumbered after him like some great Goliath pleading for the David to stand still long enough so that the giant could pulverize him into a gelatinous dollop of bloody pulp.

Commented one announcer, "Clay was making all the beautiful moves and Liston was falling into all the booby traps."

Immediately after he realized that he had been declared the winner, the neurasthenic champion went into his act. "I said my prayers regularly and Mohammed was with me," he proclaimed, "No evil criminal can beat a man of God."

"I kept telling the bum to get up," he went on, "but I was too fast for him. His punches hit my arm."

When asked for a description of the punch that ended the fight, Clay at first replied, "a left hook and a right cross," but a few seconds later changed this to, I'll have to see the video tape."

He then called Floyd Patterson into th ring with him, declaring "As soon as we got the contract ready, I'm ready for the rabbit."

"We have got the bear, now we will get the hare," he recited, stumbling over the words as if he were trying to spit out a memorized phrase. However, he conceded, with his arm around Patterson that "he might stand a better chance than the bear.